Football: Animals take over the beautiful game

The Iron Man of Italy, Gennaro Gattuso built a wildly successful career out of channelling the spirit of the animal. Deadly in his tackle and quick in his distribution, Gattuso formed the perfect cover for the artista Andrea Pirlo, as the duo, along with an inspired Fabio Cannavaro in central defense, turned the footballing world on its head by lifting the World Cup in ’06.

The Brazilian Hulk, in his own inimitable way, is not defined by the animal; rather he carries it around with a grace that is unbecoming of his broad frame. Almost as if in waltzing past a challenge with his sublime skill he absolves the animal of any responsibility, until a moment arises when an unfortunate challenger is knocked down to the ground by its overbearing presence. The Hulk walks on, unperturbed; a man who considers the animal a useful, but not a very necessary, ally.

Crisitiano Ronaldo, however, has whole-heartedly embraced the animal that erupted inside him when, as a wee lad of 17, he was taken to the cleaners repeatedly by the no-nonsense defenders of the Premier League.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s tutelage gave Ronaldo a tool that is today one of the deadliest in his range; one that he has exploited to its potential, to the point where it came back to haunt Sir Alex himself when his former protégé squared off against the master in a Champions League quarterfinal last year.

Hanging in the air for what seemed like an eternity, Ronaldo seemed to hold everyone in the splendour of that jump. Patrice Evra was kneeling at his feet, wide-eyed and helpless; whereas David De Gea might not even have been there for all the good it did him. The perfectly executed header that followed seemed to be a formality, the mundane bringing down of the curtains, so to speak, to tell the people that the show was over, folks.

However, things can go very wrong if one summons the beast without giving him the respect he deserves. Gabriel Agbonlahor, under an astute Martin O’Neil, was once the darling hopeful of the English masses; a powerful, quick and dynamic forward who was certainly capable of leading the England line in due time. But his over-indulgences in the gym eventually prompted then manager Gerrard Houllier to curtail his upper body workouts, because it was affecting his mobility on the pitch.

Thankfully, an electric Agbonlahor has been instrumental for The Villans this time around, and looks set to be called up for his country again.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic uses the animal to intimidate, before letting his genius flatten the opposition; while Roman heartbeat Daniele De Rossi exemplifies it with his every movement on the pitch. The puzzle that is Mario Balotelli unintentionally unlocks its potential from time to time, but his raw mind has been incapable of taming its rough edges thus far.

The animal is a manager’s dream, for he will bleed for the team every time he takes to the field. And because he is not confined to the intricacies of position, he can be unleashed in a myriad of ways. Moussa Sissoko and Yaya Toure have been phenomenal for their respective sides in this regard, while Carlos Puyol has been instrumental wherever the manager has played him.

Edinson Cavani could not have been given a better nickname. El Matador has been enthralling the Park De Princes since his arrival – the only complaint being that he has been chained to a wide position thus far.

But the animal will not fret over such trivial frills; because his is not to make reply, his is not to reason why, his is but to do and die. And a warrior must always follow his code.